The Summer Seaside Kitchen

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Class

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Maggie went to the window and opened it wide, inhaling the lovely, ozoney air off the sea. Why had she never lived by the sea before? Why had she always looked out on housing estates and not the little white hulls of trawlers bobbing off in the distance? It's gloriously sunny in Cornwall as the school year starts at the little boarding school by the sea.

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Story OK

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Story

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Ever dreamed of starting over? Issy Randall can bake. No, more than that - Issy can create stunning, mouth-wateringly divine cakes. After a childhood spent in her beloved Grampa Joe’s bakery she has undoubtedly inherited his talent. So when she’s made redundant from her safe but dull City job, Issy decides to seize the moment and open up her own café. It should be a piece of cake, right?

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As dawn breaks over the Pont Neuf, and the cobbled alleyways of Paris come to life, Anna Trent is already awake and at work; mixing and stirring the finest, smoothest, richest chocolate; made entirely by hand, it is sold to the grandes dames of Paris. It's a huge shift from the chocolate factory she worked in at home in the north of England. But when an accident changed everything, Anna was thrown back in touch with her French teacher, Claire

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They live 500 miles apart. Yet their lives are about to collide. Lissa loves her job as a nurse, but recently she's been doing a better job of looking after other people than looking after herself. After a traumatic incident at work leaves her feeling overwhelmed, she agrees to swap lives with someone in a quiet village in Scotland. Cormac is restless. Just out of the army, he's desperately in need of distraction and there's precious little of it in Kirrinfief. Maybe three months in London is just what he needs.

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While Katie's glad it's not a man's world anymore, she'd be quite pleased if there were more men in it - or at least single ones, anyway. More likely to get murdered than married, according to gleeful media reports, Katie resigns herself to the fact there's no sex in the city and heads for the hills - or the Scottish Highlands, to be precise. Despite the fact she's never been a girl for wellies and Fairlish is in the middle of nowhere, the tiny town does have one major draw: men. Lots of them.

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With her West Highland terrier Hamish at her side, Lucy plans to relax and read up on the women of nearby Bletchley Park. But the villagers of Little Maudley have other ideas and she finds herself caught up in the campaign to turn a dilapidated telephone box into a volunteer-run library. Along the way, she makes friends with treehouse designer Sam and finds herself falling for the charms of village life. And it seems Bunty has a special connection to Bletchley and the telephone box, one that she's kept secret for decades....

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Feel good

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As the summer holidays start, scandal hits Downey House. The attraction between Maggie Adair, the fiery, committed English teacher at Downey House and David McDonald, a teacher at the local boys' school, has escalated - and now both are facing an uncertain future. The girls of Downey House - mercurial Fliss, glamorous Alice and shy, dependable Simone - are facing long summers at home. But the new term is not far away - and it will bring new pupils and lots of fresh new challenges....

4 out of 5 stars

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By
Wendy
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The Secret Seaside Escape

By:
Heidi Swain

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Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins

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4.5 out of 5 stars
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Performance

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Following a shocking revelation within her family, Tess Tyler is looking to escape her hectic city life - and where better to hide than Wynmouth, the seaside town she visited as a child, with its sandy beaches, stunning rock pools and welcoming community. But little does she realise, Wynmouth isn't quite the haven she remembers it to be, and her real life is still threatening to catch up with her. Also returning to Wynmouth is Joe. Having fled more than a decade ago after an accident that changed his life forever, he’s back and is determined to face his demons.

5 out of 5 stars

just fantastic

By
Jackie Cody-Ryan
on
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My One True North

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Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins

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Overall

5 out of 5 stars
253

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars
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Laurie and Pete should never have met. But fate has pushed them together for a reason. Six months ago, on the same night, Laurie and Pete both lost their partners. Struggling to manage the grief, they join the same counselling group - and meet each other. From their sadness, Pete and Laurie find happiness growing, and they sense a fresh new beginning. Except, the more they talk, the more Laurie begins to spot the strange parallels in their stories. Then Pete discovers a truth that changes everything. But, as surely as a compass points north, some people cannot be kept apart.

5 out of 5 stars

soothing like hot chocolate

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07-03-20

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4 out of 5 stars
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4 out of 5 stars
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Amanda's old school friends can't believe it when the social-climbing queen of preen, Satan's very own PR girl, pulls off the ultimate publicity stunt in getting herself engaged to a Scottish laird. Who cares that Fraser McConnald has worn the same pair of Converse trainers for the last three years and that his castle is a pile of rubble with one calor gas heater - she'll be titled!

4 out of 5 stars

Lovely and funny, worth a listen.

By
Anna
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24-05-17

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5 out of 5 stars
53

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Love, friendship and family come in all different shapes and sizes. Gina has been going with the flow for years - she'd rather have an easy life than face any conflict. She runs her childminding business from her cottage at the edge of The Evergreens, a charming Victorian house and home to three octogenarians who have far too much fun for their age. But when The Evergreens is put up for sale, Gina and the other residents face losing their home.

5 out of 5 stars

Warm and fuzzy

By
Frances
on
26-03-20

The Secrets of Ivy Garden

By:
Catherine Ferguson

Narrated by:
Kristin Atherton

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Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
23

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
21

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4.5 out of 5 stars
21

When Holly breaks up with her boyfriend Dean, she’s at a loss as to what to do next. But things go from bad to worse when her beloved grandmother Ivy dies - and Holly is left in charge of sorting out Ivy’s house and garden. As she sorts through her grandmother’s belongings and makes her way through the wilderness outside, Holly soon finds that there is more to Ivy than meets the eye and uncovers a surprising family secret that changes everything.

4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable to the end

By
Trek
on
18-05-20

Summary

A poignant and heart-warming tale about family, relationships and new beginnings, The Summer Seaside Kitchen is best-selling author Jenny Colgan at her best. A must for fans of lighthearted comedy and cooking, this charming story will make you reminisce about your own family ties.

Flora is forced to move back to the tiny island of Mure from the bright lights of London. It's tough: even the beautiful landscapes and bright blue sea can't lift her spirits - she's too busy looking after her dad and her feckless brothers. Then she chances upon her mum's collection of recipes and begins to cook her way through it. As she reconnects with her family and the place she was born, might she also find herself?

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Different but brilliant!

At first this book was a bit slow, I was 1/3rd in before it grabbed me and from that moment until the end I didn't stop listening and just had to do the rest of it in one day... its style is different from what Jenny Colgan normally writes as it's written from 2 characters perspectives, I think had it not been this way I wouldn't have understood the motives of the second character or understood him at all. It made him more rounded and more human and I think that's what made the book so much more interesting. Absolutely a must read if your a JC fan. I think this is her best book to date.

A beautiful story well tools

This is the best audible book I've listened to. Wonderful storytelling take you to the island enjoying the tastes smells and scenery. I enjoyed it so much I will definitely listen to this over and over again

Island life and foodie treats

This is one of Jenny Colgan's better offerings and more mature in theme than the last few books of hers that I listened to before this. This one's a slightly deeper, more atmospheric book, with descriptions of the island and island life. I like that Flora and Joel are intriguing and complex characters and that it has cooking! Jenny Colgan always seems to do her best writing when she's writing about baking, cooking and food so it's a bit of a treat. In fact I would have given it five stars but towards the end it gets less satisfying compared to the rest of the story. When it finished though I was eager to listen to the sequel.

Another beautiful book about Scotland.....and love!

Jenny paints a beautiful picture of the very north of Scotland with this well written story. Makes you want to visit!Floral is an island girl struggling with her life in London, who is madly in love with her boss. Her work takes her home and her life changes for the better..or does it? Working for a very rich resident on the island means facing her past and family and there is no escape but will she stay or go back?Sarah Barron reads so well and has an incredible range of accents portraying the local burr so well. Really enjoyed this book.The recipes at the end are a nice little bonus!

keep looking

Magical!

This book was more than I expected it to be from the title and blurb.Having recently cruised around the British isles, visiting Orkney I really enjoyed the descriptions of the light and air of the far north. It is indeed like a cold clear glass of water. The romantic story line was a little predictable, but the characters of the island people were good. I loved the references to the myths of the north.The book was brought to life by the narrator, I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much if I had read it